


The Suevin Royal Family

by Mouser26



Category: Original Work
Genre: Family Secrets, Historical Fantasy, M/M, Mystery, Princess - Freeform, Secret Relationship, Self-Made Family, gay king, snippets to make a story, warrior priest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-09-01 05:35:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8610727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mouser26/pseuds/Mouser26
Summary: A painting that has baffled scholars tells of a secret.





	

_ The Suevin Royal family _

The  composition was not wholly uncommon; the King standing proudly at attention while the queen sat presenting a more demure look,  the Crown Prince and Heir standing at her side while the second child, a Princess sat as her mirror just in front of her father.

The mystery of the piece lay with the fifth figure.

Despite being in the center of the piece the man almost faded into the background, mostly obscured by the king and his children, unremarkable in every way save that he stood with the royal family.

The painting was a puzzle for scholars of all walks.  


_"We can identify that he was a member of the_ _Aingeru Brotherhood, an order of warrior monks that served the royal family and other nobles that could afford them. What we have yet to find a name for this specific Brother or why he was included in the royal portrait. Such a thing was never done before or since."_

_“To make things worse there are a number or sketches of each member of the royal family by_ _Lucrèce_ _Nicosia and his apprentice as expected but none of the Brother. It’s almost like he’s a ghost in the picture... except this is an oil painting, not a photograph."_

_"King John requested on his inclusion, that much is on record.  And it's been rumored that the Princess Elisa refused to sit still unless the Brother was nearby."_

_"_ _Nicosia_ _'s apprentice even made note that the commission was nearly lost when the artist attempted to omit the Brother, though he stood with the royal family at every sitting.”_

The painting was displayed in the Suevin National Museum in the hall of kings among countless other artifacts from the same era transitioning from one ruler to the next. It was a rare family portrait in a time when paintings for royals were almost exclusively used for marriage arrangements rather than personal mementoes.

This again was an oddity when it came to King John; despite the plethora of formal documents that were able to be displayed there were no missives or mementos of a personal nature. Most insight into the private lives of these royals was based on the accounts of the Prince and Queen, rather than the King himself.

 

_“I’m telling you they were lovers.”_

_“You are a student here Mister Robinson no one has asked for your absurd theories.”_

_“Well at least I have a theory; you’ve all been stuck for decades. If the king was banging his male bodyguard that would totally explain the lack of mistresses or love letters.”_

_"But he had the Queen.  And she did not have any known trysts, either.  Perhaps they had a loving marriage?"_

_“That wouldn’t explain the lack of love notes,  why they only had two children, or why King John abdicated only a decade after his son reached his majority despite living nearly another two decades .”_

_“Mister Robinson if you can give your theory any credit based on real evidence then and only then might we consider it.”_

 

> It is a relief to have Uncle Eli here at last. As summer has stretched on I had worried he might not come, though in my life he has refused me very little.  I dreaded the thought of him alone in that great estate with what few servants remain, and only father’s memory to keep company. I remember when there was life, a certain deep rooted peace, that could only be found there and never in the castle. While my Father and Uncle could never fully shed their roles the burden seemed eased by the week’s distance from the castle, I certainly felt my own title as Princess was shed the rare times I was allowed to accompany them. I was just a girl in the country with her father and the man we both considered our dearest. Now the years have passed and Uncle has come to my home instead, it is my children he sweeps into his protective embrace disregarding his own age and pain. I know he will not stay long, though I pray otherwise.  He will go when the time is right and return to my father’s side to see the end.

Excerpt from the personal journals of Queen Elisa

A seven day journey was no small area to search with no further details, the variables making it all the more difficult. But they finally found it.

 The house itself had been taken by Brotherhood as a haven, now open to all as a religious retreat by the local church. The surrounding grounds were a park the farthest corner of which was dominated by an ancient Willow tree, behind which was the gates to a familial funeral ground.

Countless generations filled the field most marked by simple headstones many lost to time but the most noteworthy feature was a building, a mausoleum whose exterior was as well-kept despite its obvious centuries of age.

 

_“You want to know about the Final Resting Place.”_

_“Final Resting Place? Well Yes but I mean the mausoleum.”_

_“As do I, it is the last grave of the last member of the family to own this land.”_

_“He was a lord?”_

_“Not quite. The histories say that the family was lesser nobles and merchants with the occasional third son being sent to the brotherhood as was expected.”_

_“But the last son wasn’t a lord?”_

_“That’s where it gets complicated. The last Lord only had a daughter, who in turn had only a son of questionable paternity. The child was turned over to the Brotherhood for training with the hopes that the daughter would marry and have more legitimate children.”_

_“So the last male heir was a Brother.”_

_“Yes.”_

_“And he was allowed to be buried here?”_

_“The Brother returned here in his later years with a male companion. They lived here until their deaths and were laid to rest together.”_

 

The interior of the mausoleum was unlike anything anyone might have expected, it wasn’t a crypt it was a bedroom.

The space measured thirteen feet by nine feet, not much larger than what most considered a college dorm room. There was a desk immediately adjacent to the heavy door, documents and quills laid out as if the owner had simply stepped out, there was even a child’s doll peeking from behind a book laying on the surface.

Thick carpets covered the floors and simple wall hangings keeping out the chill that would have come with such a room in a castle. And there was no doubt this was an emulation of a castle room, the hanging and carpets while simple in design were very well made some embellished with silks and precious metals  even a well off merchant would have been hard pressed to afford. The desk and the chair before it, even the bookcase on another wall, were well worn but made of the finest woods.

In sharp contrast the chest that served as a bedside table under an unlit calabra was battered from travel and use alike, the seals of the brotherhood nearly worn away from the sides.  Then beside it came the first reminder that this was a grave.

In place of a bed was a great stone coffin.

 

> ** Lost King Found Buried With Bodyguard **
> 
> The remains of what is thought to be King John IV of the Suevin Royal Family and what is believed to be his bodyguard Brother Eli of the Martorana Family were discovered by student Frederik Robinson. Robinson was attempting to solve the mystery of the Suevin Family Portrait, when he discovered the burial site and stone coffin containing the remains. 
> 
> “This is truly amazing.” Robinson said, “I was just looking to find the name of the Brother painted with the royal family. Instead I may have actually found proof of the dismissed theory that the king and his bodyguard were lovers!”

 

_"THEY’RE IN THE SAME COFFIN!"_

_“Mister Robinson, some decorum please!”_

_"He could have just been an honor guard in death."_

_"Look at the dates of death, the Brother died the spring after the King, more than half a year’s difference. That correlates with the visit of ‘Uncle Eli’ to Queen Elisa-“_

_"Heck, the daughter's name wasn't one used through the history of either of the royals' family lines, as tradition demanded.  It is unique to her.  Goddess, it is one of the first instances of the feminine form of Eli in the history of the Kingdom.”_

_“There may be some credit to the King and his bodyguard being very close.”_

There was more than credit to the idea as the documents in the grave proved. The most revealing of all was a partially completed missive resting on the desktop

 

She’s here which means I’ll be with you soon John. I have never thanked you enough for giving me such a perfect namesake. Our life has been nothing like it should have been. I had my vow to be your sword, your shield, and your guardian angel. And you my King, you were a challenge I never expecting.

 I’m so tired John, so tired and lost without you. I can’t sleep alone, it’s too cold and quiet without you beside me, I look over hoping to see your smile or steal a kiss but you aren’t there.  Soon though Love, our daughter understands I can’t stay.

-Final letter of Brother Eli of Martorana

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Tiasidhe for helping so much on this story and putting up with my fussing..and letting me play with your Johnny boy.


End file.
